Vinegar to Remove Sticker Residue

My first vinegar cleaning test involved removing an old sticker and the residue that was on the bottom of a very old glass pitcher. I've had the pitcher in my possession for about 5 years and have no idea the full age of this pitcher. So, it seemed like a good item to try the sticker/residue removal test. In my head, the sticky residue is a germ catcher not to mention a plain old eye sore, so I actually try to get rid of that residue as soon as I remove any sticker myself.

The idea is to remove goo from stickers, bumper stickers, labels, decals, etc. by repeatedly wiping with vinegar. So, first, I sprayed vinegar onto the sticker/residue section of the pitcher. I let it sit for about 5 minutes then scrubbed the section with a paper towel and my nail. The sticker part came off rather easily with some umph. I sprayed more vinegar onto the residue that remained and let it stand for another 5 minutes. With a hard push with my nail over the paper towel, most of the residue came off.

So, I repeated the process for 5 more minutes. The last bit of residue was stubborn, so I had to bring out my plastic scraper to remove most of what remained of the residue. I tried another 5-minute vinegar soak again, but the remaining residue wouldn't come off the pitcher. 

 

I think this test was at least 90% successful. It may work better with newer stickers and residue and is definitely worth a try. I'll have to say it was just as effective if not more so than using Goo Gone I've used to try to remove older residue from on other items in the past. Goo Gone does work better on newer stickers/residue, so that's why I thought the vinegar might do so as well. But the vinegar is way cheaper, so I would give it a try if you don't have any other adhesive remover around.

Warning! 

The warning here is to test the vinegar (and scraper if needed) in an inconspicuous area on any item especially plastic, rubber, metal, and painted items. The vinegar (and scraper if used) may take off paint or etch these other materials. My unpainted, glass pitcher was safe to use the vinegar and scraper on.

I hope this is helpful. Take care. I'll be back soon with more vinegar cleaning tests.

#aroundthehouse
#savingmoney

Patricia